Page:Judaism and Islam, a prize essay - Geiger - 1898.pdf/161

 SAUL. 143

Bible narrative. 1 Jalalu'd-din and Zamakhshari 2 refer this to Balaam, and call him Balaam the son of Ba/ura. 3 Beyond these no other persons who come into the life of Moses, or who were important in his time, are mentioned, and thus our second part comes to an end.

SECOND SECTION.

Chapter II.

Third Part.

The three kings who ruled over undivided Israel.

The history following immediately on the time of Moses, including the time of the Judges, must either have seemed to Muhammad unedifying, which is improbable, as the story of that heroic age was quite in accord with his feelings and aims; or else it must have been wholly unknown to him, and this appears to have been the case from the fact that he speaks of the choosing of a king as an event happening after Moses, 4 in terms which can only mean immediately or very soon after Moses. Saul stands very much in the back ground ; for on the one hand his history was known to Muhammad only in a very abbreviated form, and on the other hand the Prophet had such an undefined notion of Saul's personality that he attributes to him the actions of others. Saul's history is related in the Quran 5 in the following manner: "After Moses the Israelites desired a king, in order that they might go out under him to the Holy War ; 6 to which however only a few of them

1 Elpherar calls him, following some authorities, .ule ^ ^*1>. and following others, yA> y* ^*1).

2 Maracc. on the passage. 3 ^yU ^ ^*1>

4 Sura II. 24 1 ;. ^p jJ ^ 5 Sura II. 247-53.

6 1 Samuel, viii. 20.